Video lottery terminals would be allowed at two Ulster County sites under Cahill, Seward bills

Video lottery terminals like these would be allowed at two locations in Ulster County under legislation proposed by state Assemblyman Kevin Cahill, D-Kingston, and state Sen. James Seward, D-Milford.
AP file

As a state siting board prepares to select locations for four Las Vegas-style casinos in three regions of New York, including the Hudson Valley-Catskills, Assemblyman Kevin Cahill and Sen. James Seward have introduced legislation to allow video lottery terminals in Ulster County.

The proposal by Cahill, D-Kingston, and Seward, R-Milford, would amend state tax law to allow two existing resorts in Ulster County to install video lottery terminals, commonly called VLTs, operated by the Catskill Regional Off-Track Betting Corp.

The law would apply only to hotels with more than 100 rooms that have been in continuous business for at least three years. There also would need to be a resolution of support by the community where the VLTs would be located.

In a press release Friday, Cahill said several places in Ulster County would qualify to apply for the VLTs, though the release didn’t cite any by name. In a phone interview later Friday, Cahill said examples of resorts that could have VLTs include the Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, the Hudson Valley Resort in Kerhonkson and the Rocking Horse Ranch in Highland.

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VLTs already are in use at several harness racing tracks in the state.

Town of New Paltz Supervisor Susan Zimet, who plans to challenge Cahill in a Democratic Party primary in September, said the assemblyman’s bill undermines the proposed casino at the former Nevele resort in the Ulster County town of Wawarsing.

Zimet said she is concerned that “when the decision is being made to decide who gets the casino, that it will be Ulster County gets VLTs and other counties, like Orange County, would get the casino.”

Cahill disagreed.

“I do not believe it to be in conflict with any other applications that are pending for full-scale casinos, notwithstanding the opinion of a few other people who are vested in the Nevele casino project,” he said in a press release issued Friday.

Cahill said he is “not opposed to the Nevele casino project” and believes “that the destination resort setting is the most appropriate and that a project on the scale of what is proposed for the Nevele could be a significant boost for the local economy, particularly the greater Ellenville area.”

Cahill noted that some local leaders pushed away other potential Ulster County casino developers last year in favor of the Nevele proposal. But given the current landscape, he said — with Orange County casino proposals receiving regional endorsements and offering bigger opportunities, and Sullivan County proposals enjoying the support of proven large-scale operators — “the sole application from Ulster County is anything but a sure thing.”

Cahill also cited sexual assault allegations that have been dogging Michael Treanor, the chief executive officer of Nevele Investors LLC, though he didn’t mention Treanor by name in the press release.

“Given the damage that has been done to the single Ulster-based application from questions arising over certain individuals in the management of the organization, there is a serious risk that the Nevele application will not succeed and then Ulster would be left with nothing at all,” the assemblyman said. He said offering VLTs would create a “backstop” to that possibility.

Treanor was reinstated as Nevele Investors’ CEO in May, three weeks after he stepped down amid reports his sister had accused him in a 2008 lawsuit of sexually assaulting her in 2007.

Treanor ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, which is not a sex crime, and reached a monetary settlement with his sister.

Cahill said he has been considering the VLT legislation for a considerable time and that there still are details to work out. He said he introduced the bill June 6 and amended it earlier this week to remove references to Sullivan County because he believes an Ulster-only bill would have a better chance of passing.

Under a state constitutional amendment approved by voters last year, a total of four casinos will be allowed on non-Indian land in three regions of the state: the Hudson Valley-Catskills, comprising Ulster, Sullivan and Orange counties; the Albany-Saratoga area; and the Southern Tier-Finger Lakes area. Each area will get at least one casino license; many observers expect the extra license to go to the Hudson Valley-Catskills.

The Nevele proposal is the only one for a location in Ulster County.

Final proposals from casino developers are due to the state by June 30. A state casino siting board is expected to announce the chosen sites in the fall.